animals everywhere!

also work-related, i finally got to go to avilon zoo in montalban. i've been looking forward to going there ever since jac wrote about it in her blog. we went via the commonwealth-batasan route. and very near the zoo, we had to drive through this:

it was so exciting! the river actually flows right through it! of course, during the few seconds we were traversing that route, i was thinking "so, in which direction should i swim should we fall into the water?" later, we found out there was a bridge a few meters away parallel to the road. but the experience was so cool, we took the same road going home!
first, we saw the swans! they were a sight to behold, some black, some white. it was the first time i'd ever heard the sound that swans make. don't ask me to try replicating it though. i tried, and every time, the person i was talking to laughed at me!

i was like a kid in a zoo! snapping pictures, asking questions, trying to interact with the animals. this emu makes a drum-beating sound. it was so friendly, and would turn its head right, then center, then left, then back to center--just begging for a photo op!

i saw flamingos!!! live and moving and so long-legged. and ostriches too.

other feathered friends

going wild!

baby cubs out for their daily exercise

been hearing about it for some time, but first time i've ever seen a tapir:

let me tell you about joey. he's an orangutan that used to be able to walk freely around the zoo because he was friendly and safe. but some construction workers on-site taught him to smoke and drink. and so now, they have to put him in a cage. poor guy.:(

avilon was a great place to visit, with a lot of animals, that (thankfully) didn't look sad nor malnourished. it's a really nice, 7-hectare space that's expecting a lot of new additions soon. i'm definitely going back!

my hedwig photo series
me: let's take a picture together, ok?

hedwig: no! pay before picture! you mad woman-child!

me: ok, finally, there. how nice!
hedwig: what are you laughing at?!?! i look at camera, you fork out the money, #*^@%!